School desk and seat and other furniture.



PATENTED MAY 8, 1906.

A. L. & G. H. BANOROFT. SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT AND OTHER FURNITURE.

APPLICATION YILED 8EPT. 29, 1992 2 SHEBTB-BHBET 1.

venion:

PATBNTBD MAY 8, 1906.

A. L. 6: G. H. BANGROFT. SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT AND OTHER FURNITURE.

APPLIGATION FILED 313F129 1902 in the construction of the standard orsup- UNITED srA'pns ALBERT L. BANUROFT AND PATENT OFFICE.

CALIFORNIA.

SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT No. 820,336. Specification of AND OTHER FURNITURE.

Letters Patent. Patented May 8, 1906.

Application filed deptember 29, 1962. Serial lie. 126,312.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT L. BAN- cnor'r and GEORGE H. BANOROFT,citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county ofLos Angeles and State of Cali fornia,have invented new and useful Iniprovements in School Desks and Seats and other Furniture,of which thefollowing is a cation.

An object of this invention is to provide an extremely light andeconomical construction ads ted for adjustable school furniture and theike.

Further objects are minimum occupation of space for storage andtransportation, maximum strength, rigidity, and unbreakableness, readyand easy putting together from knockdown form, and convenient adjustmentto. desired height. By this invention we secure in each and every deskcomplete adjustability from the lowest to the ighest, and vice versa.

Another object is to provide a construction whereby school and otherfurniture can be manufactured from stock materials without a specialmanufacturing plant.

We propose to rovide for the manufac ture of furniture w ich will supplythe place of all the various sizes of school-desks and seat-standardsand to do this from stock material by the use of only one set of rollsand dies, which may be applied to the standard machinery in an r plantadapted for working sheet metal, an therefore to dispense with thenecessity for the numerous sets of patterns of diiferent sizes nowrequired for the castings of the usual form of desk.

A further object of this invention is to pro vide a desk which maywithout any change specifi port be constructed as a horizontal-top or asa slanting-top desk.

A further object is to provide a desk the top of which may be used as adcsk t-o or as 1 an easel, a book-rest, or a drawingioard. This isaccomplished by means of a slidin member of special construction, whichbe fully described in the following specific-a tion.

.Thns in Fig. I the desk-stand of a elect or stri grooved in its top andhaving a front wallet greater height than the rear wall. in thisdescription the front of the desk is understood to be that ortion of thedesk which is farthest from t is person sitting at the desk.

A further object is to provide a cheap and convenient adjustablefoot-rest for the per son using the desk and seat.

A further object is to provide a new type of dcsk which will present anovel ornamentel appearance.

7 The accompanying drswings illustrate the invention as applied toschool furniture.

Figure I is a perspective view of a school desk and seat embodying ourinvention in a form in which a iart which forms a portion of a standardof the desk also forms a portion of the book-box of the desk. Thesliding member of the desk is shown arranged for use as a book-rest.Fig. H is a plan section on line H H, Fig. 1. Hi H1 is a fragmented plansection on line in in, Fig. 1. Fig. iv is a view of the foot-rest andbrace detached. Fig. V is a perspective view of the sliding member of te desk-top detached. r Fig. V1 is a view of another form of school deskand seat embodying our invention. Fig. VII isa fragmental verticalsection on line indicated by VII Vii, Fig. I. The left standard isshown. Fi VIII is a detail plan section on line viii viii, Fig. vii.Fig. IX is a plan of the desk shown in Fig. I without the slidingmember, which is removed. Fig. X is a fragmental detail illustrating theconstruction at one corner of the book-box lookin toward the front. Fig.X1 is a fra menta plan section on line Xi XI, Fig. VT. Fig.

X11 is a fragmental sectional elevation of the form of desk shown inFig. I.

In the drawings different ard embodying our invention forms ofstandarereprcsented.

ards are indicated in a general way at 1, while 2 designates theseat-standard. In Fig. VI, 3 designet-es a modified form ofdesk-standard, and i a modified seat-standard.

A novel feature of our invention consists in a standard for furnitureformed of corru- A furtherohject is to provide an improvement in desksby forming at the front edge thereof a combined stop and pen-and-pencilrack made of one or more pieces in the form ated sheet material. Wepropose to'comhinc stren th, rigidity, lightness, compactness, simpcity, and great adjustability by constructing the standards of our novelfur niture from corrugated sheet material appropriately formed for thepurpose.

Referring first to the form shown in Fig. I, the characters 5, 6, and 7designate three sheets of bent sheet metal, the same being desirablycorrugated and perforated. The perforations 8 9 may be of any formperferred by the constructor or user and may be of any determinedlength. The perforations 9 are desirably oblong slots arranged withstops 1() between them, which are of less vertical length or height thanthe length of the slots 9. The sheets are slidingly fitted together, andslots of engaging sheets register with each other.

11 designates bolts through the slots 9 for adjustably fastening thesheets together. The form of corrugation may be varied from arectangular or box-plait form to an acute or obtuse bend or may be inwavy lines. All this will be readily understood. by any one versed inthe art, and no illustration of the numerous forms in which thecorrugations maybe made is attempted.

Preferably the corrugations of the different sheets or members areformed to correspond with each other, so that when assembled with theirends overlapping each other the corrugations willintcrlap-that is, thoseof one member will fit in or slide lengthwise upon those of the othermember, and thereby mutually support and brace each other and also tendto prevent the cdgewise movement of the sheets upon each other with thebolts or fasteners as a center.

By making the slots of greater length than the steps 10 between themcomplete adjustment is secured. A suflieient adjustment of the furnitureas to height may be secured by the use of only two sheets, and in somecases it is necessary to employ a greater number of sheets. Said sheetsoverlap each other, and where three sheets are used, as in Fig. I, theupper sheet 5 will overlap on the outside of the next lower sheet, whichin Fig. I is a splicer 7, and. the sheet 7 overlaps on the outside ofthe next lower sheet 6, so that the outer face of the standard is freeof any ledge formed by overlapping edges.

The splicer 7 in the form shown in Fig. I overlaps the base-sheet 6 andis adjustably secured thereto by bolts. In order to provide for furtherrigidity and also to provide for connecting the standards to the partswith which they are to be connected, said sheets 5, 6, and 7 are bent toform flanges.

12 designates a base-flange for the bottom of the basesheet 6 for thepurpose of securing the same to the floor.

13 is a vertical flange which extends up along the front edge of thesheet 6.

14 and 15 are like vertical flanges on the front edges of the sheets 7and 5, respectively.

16 designates a flange at the top of the i top sheet 5, by means ofwhich the said sheet may be fastened to the under side of the desktopmember 17.

18 designates screws by which the flanges 16 may be fastened to thedesk-top member 17.

In order that the desk-top member may be inclined and yet be of uniformthickness and the flanges 16 be at right angles to the upright standard,wedge-shaped cleats 19 may be interposed between the flanges 16 and thedesk-top member 17, the thicker end of the wedge being at the front andthe thinner edge being at the rear of the desk. Desirably the screws 18will pass through the flange 16 into the wedges 19 and may extend upinto the top member 17, as indicated in Fig. VII.

20 designates a brace formed of a sheet of material bent at each end toform flanges 21, which may be fastened by bolts to the sheet-metalstandards 1.

23 is a shelf member, desirably formed of sheet metal downwardly bentand perforated at its ends to form perforated. flanges 24, two of whichare fastened to the side standards 1 by bolts 25, and the other may befastened to the front member or brace 20 by a bolt 27. The downturnedflanges 24 afford a secure means for fastening the shelf member 23 tothe standard and to the front bracket member 20 and are out of the wayof the books which are to be placed on the shelf, and by thisarrangement the fastening belts or screws are also out of the way ofsaid books.

Desirably the portions of the standard along which the rows of slots orperforations are arranged are flat-faced, as shown at 28, for giving atrue seat for the head of the belts or screws which fasten the partstogether and also to add to the ornamental appearance of the standards.

The brace 20 is arranged for closing the space between the front edgesof the desk-top member and shelf member. Said space may be fully orpartially closed, as desired. In Fig. I the brace 20 is shown as closingthe space partially. 30 designates bracket extensions fastened to theedges of the standards, respectively, for supporting the rear portion ofthe top member. 31 designates foot-pieces fastened to the rear edge ofthe lower end of the standards to rest upon the floor and giveadditional rigidity to the standards. These members 30 and 31 areconstructed of bent sheets of material desirably corrugated and providedwith flanges 32 and 33, respectively. When said parts 30 and 31 areformed in pieces separate from the body portion of the standard, saidstandard may be made with straight longitudinal edges and manufacturedmore cheaply than if formed all in one piece.

The corrugations of the sheets which are the dos or the standard of the.seat.

secured together for vertical adjustment are of a determined depthrequisite to give the necessary rigidity against lateral fiexure,and thecorrugations of the bracket and foot extensions are of desirably lessdepth than the corrugations of the standards in order to give greaterstrength to resist edgewise flexure of said extensions. This will beunderstood by reference to Fig. VIII, in which the corrugations 70, 71,and 72 of the bracket are shown of decreasing depth from the standardtoward the back of the desk.

The top and base sheets 5 and 6 of the standards are bent, respectively,to form horizontal flanges 16 and 12, respectively, for the urpose offastening said top and base members to the desk-top 17 and the floor,respectively.

34 is a footrest formed of sheet metal bent upon itself to give ri idityand to afford an easy so )port for the foot of the occupant of k. Thisfoot-rest is adapted for adjustment to either the standard of the deskIn Fig. l the foremost desk of a row of desks is sup used to be shown,other desks of the row eing emitted from the view, and the footrest 3dis shown fastened to the desk-standards by bolts 35. A foot-rest ofcorresponding form is also shown attached to the standard 2 of the seat.It is to be understood that the length and other dimensions of thefoot-rest may be varied to fit the space in which the foot-rest is to bemounted and that the footrest for the desk may be longer than that onthe seat-standards. Said foot-rest has an oblique rear face and may bebent at its uper edge to form an eye 36 and also bent to orm a ledge 37at the bottom, as shown in Fig. IV. 38 designates perforations throughwhich the bolts 35 may be passed to fasten the foot-rest to thestandards.

By the construction shown the article of furniture,whether a desk orseat-standard,has two points of support a b for the foot-rest 34.

' Desirably the foot-rest for the desk may be provided with flanges 39,through which the fastening-bolts 35 may be passed to enter the oblongslots 9 of the standards.

40 is a channel in the top of the desk, and 41 a slidin member in saidchannel top furnished wit hinged leaves 42 and 43, said leaves beinghinged to a member 44 and which extends from the back to the front ofthe desk. Said member 44 is desirably constructed of soft Wood to form adrawin board, and the members 42 and 43 are her finished to form the topof the desk when in ordinary use. 45 designates hinges connectingmembers 42 43 to the sliding member 41. Said hinges may be (if-flexiblematerialsuch as canvas, leather, or the likecovering the entire edges ofthe members, as indicated at 45, Fig. V, or they may be of any othersuitable construction. One of the members, as 42, may be of greaterlength than the other and adapted to as an easel when said member israised at one edge for the purpose. This adjustment of said member is tobe un derstood without illustration. The other member, 43 ,is desirablyof loss length and is furnished with a ledge 46 and is adapted to serveas a book-rest. Said ledge 46 is desirably a cleat having a longitudinalgroove 47, and its top is adapted to serve as a pen and pencil rack forthe desk when the sliding member 41 is in its usual position, which itis to be understood is the reverse of that shown in Fig. I.

48 designates two grooved cleats corresponding to the cleat 46, fastenedto the desktop at the opposite sides of the channel 40 to formextensions of the pen and pencil rack 46 when the sliding member ll isarranged for using the desk as an ordinary school-(lbsk.

. Desirably the channel 40 is located nearer to the right side the desk(as clearly shown in Fig. IX) than the left, this being the mostconvenient arrangement for use of the upil when the sliding member isused as a rawing=board, book-rest, or easel.

The side Walls of the channel 49 are desirably vertical and theremovable sliding mem ber 41 desirably fits snugly therein and can bewithdrawntherefrom vertically and can also be slid therein in order toadjust it in either direction. When it is desired to use the easel, thehinged member 42 will simply be raised at its rear edge and propped upwith books or any other suitable sup ort, and thus held at a desirableangle. T 1e sliding member may he slid forward to bring the rear edge ofthe sliding member 41 forward from the rear edge of the channel portionof the desk-top 1'1 to form a ledge to support any article placed on theeasel.

To use the book-rest, the sliding member 41 will be Withdrawn from thechannel 40 and reversed end for end, and the leaf 43 will be raised toan appropriate angle, where it may be propped up by books or otherarticles. The cleat 46 forms a convenient ledge upon which the book orother article may rest. The user may slide the member it forward or backto bring the book-rest to a desired position.

To use the sliding member 41 as a drawingboard, the same may beinverted, and if desired to give the same a greater slant than that ofthe desk-top the cleat 46 may be allowed to rest on the floor of thechannel 40 at the front of the desk. If it is not desired to give it adifferent angle than the desk-top, the member 41 may be adjusted forwardsufficiently to allow the cleat to come in front of the front edge ofthe desk-top, or said member 41 may be placed in position with the cleat46 behind the rear edge of the desk.

The front walls 6 of the grooves in the tops of the cleats 46 and 47 arehigher than the rear walls f, so that pens and pencils may be easily putinto the grooves by the pupil sitting at the desk, and there will be noliability of pushing the same out forward over the front of the desk.

In Fig. VI a form of construction different from that shown in Fig. I isillustrated, the intermediate portion of the desk-standard beingnarrower than in I. The top member 50 may be formed of a single pieceand the base member 51. of another piece. These two pieces may beduplicates of each other and interchangeable The slots 52 in thesemembers are shown of greater length. than the slots 9 in Fig. I. Thebook-box 53 is shown as constructed independentlv of the standards. Itis to be understood that the members 50 and 51 are provided with flanges(hidden in Fig. VI) which correspond to the flanges 16 and 12. (Shown inFig. XII.) The standard. 4 of the seat (shown in Fig. VI) may be formedof two corres onding members 54 and 55, provided wit slots 56 andfastened together by bolts 57. Said members are desirably made of sheetmetal bent along the body, as shown in Fig. XI, and bent at the lowerend to form flanges 58, the same being perforated, as shown in Fig. XI,to receive the floor-screws 59.

60 designates screws through the flanges 58 of the top member 54 tofasten the same to the seat-piece 6].

The desk-stamlard 3 is shown as formed of two intermediate members 0 andd, fastened together and respectively fastened to the top and bottommembers 50 and 51 by means of bolts.

It is to be understood that double horizontal rows of bolts may be usedwherever desired for increased strength of fastening for the standards.The corrugations in the sheet-metal standard have the effect ofproducing a lateral extension of the bearing area against the floor andtop piece. Even in case there were no end flan es at top and bottom thecorrugations wouFd give sufficient width of bearing on the floor toafford a stable support; nor does this advantage disappear when theflanges are used, as the corrugations serve to give a stiffenin orbracing effect to the flanges, so that while the efective bearing widthof the flange extends the full width of the corrugations the unbracedportion is only that part that extends beyond the corrugations.Furthermore, the corrugated ends of the sheet metal form a zigzag line,which construction provides for a greater length of edge for attachinthe flange than would. be afforded by a standard having a straight base.This construction secures the desired strength by the use of thinnermaterial than could be used were it not for the cooperation of thecorrugated and the flanged portions of the standards, because a thinflange of great length along the line of union with the base is equal instren th to a thicker flange of less length along sai line.

Now, havlng described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. A standard for school furniture and the like comprising a pluralityof overlapped, interlapping pieces of longitudinally corrugated sheetmetal, the up er end of the top iece and the lower end of the bottompiece lieing each provided with a flange, and means for securing theoverlapping ends of said pieces together.

An adjustable standard for furniture and the like comprising a pluralityof overlapped, interlapping pieces of longitudinallycorrugated sheetmetal, the upper end of the top piece and the lower end of the bottompiece being each provided with a flange, and the overlapping portions ofsaid pieces being provided. with registering perforations, and

olts through said perforations.

3. An adjustable standard for furniture and the like comprising aplurality of overlapped, interlapplng pieces of longitudinallycorrugatedsheet metal, the upper end of the top piece and the lower end of thebottom piece being each provided with a flange, and the overlappingportions of said pieces being perforated, the perforated portions ofsaid pieces being flat or standing in the planes of the sheets, andbolts through said perforations.

4. An adjustable standard for furniture and the like comprising aplurality of overlapped, interlapplng pieces of longitudinallycorrugatedsheet metal, one edge of each of which ieces is flanged lengthwise atsubstantialIy right angles to the plane of the sheet, and the u per endof the top piece and the lower end 0 the bottom piece being eachprovided with a flange, and the overlapping portions being perforated,and bolts through said perforations.

5. An adjustable standard for furniture and the like comprising aplurality of overlapped, interlappmg pieces of longitudinallycorrugatedsheet metal, each of uniform width throughout its length, brackets ofcorrugated metal secured to the end pieces of the standard to extendlaterally in the plane of said sheets, and means for securing the overla)ped ends of the main pieces together.

6. 1i desk comprising two perforated sheetmetal standards, a top memberfastened to said standards and a shelf member having perforated flangesat its ends, bolts throu h the perforations and the standards of t eshelf member, and a brace fastened to the standards and closing thespace between the {)ront edges of the top member and shelf mem- 7. Adesk comprisin two longitudinallycorrugated sheet-meta standards spacedapart and each provided at its front edge with perforations, two bracessecured in said perforations, one above the other, the upper raceforming a shelf and the lower brace forming a foot-rest, and a top andbottom for the shelf at the tops of said standards.

8. A desk com rising standards, each of which is formed 0? a pluralityof sheets having straight longitudinal edges and connected for verticalad ustment, bracket extensions fastened to a longitudinal edge of thestand ards respectively, and a to member fastened to the tops of thestandar s.

9. A desk comprising standards each formed of corrugated sheets, thecorrugations bein of a determined depth, corrugated brac ets, one on theedge of each standard, the corrugations of the brackets being of lessdepth than the corrugations of the standards, and a top member fastenedto the standards and their brackets.

10. A desk-standard, comprisin a plural ity of sheets having verticalrows 0 slots, the upper and lower of said sheets being rovided at topand bottom respectively, wit flanges, a bracket fastened to the edge ofthe upper sheet and provided with a flange, and a foot fastened to anedge of the lower sheet.

11. A desk-top, flanged sheets forming sup orting-standards therefor, ashelf member aving downturned portions fastened to the standards belowthe desk, and a sheet fastened to the standards and forming the front ofa book-box.

1 2. A desk-top, standards formed of flanged sheets supporting saiddesk-top, a shelf member fastened to the standards and having a flangeat its front edge and a sheet fastened to said flange and to thestandards to form the front of a book-box.

13. Adesk-to ,standards formed ofeorrugated, perforate and flangedsheets fastened to said top, a perforated flanged sheet, and bolts throuh the perforations of the standards to hol the flanged sheet in positionto form a shelf under the desktop.

14. A composite desk-standard constructed of corrugated sheets fittedtogether and having longitudinal rows of perforations, triangular topbrackets and foot-pieces perforated along one edge, and bolts throughthe perforations of the several pieces to adjustably fasten the sametogether.

15. A desk comprising two standards at a distance apart, each formedfrom a plurality of overlapped, interlapping pieces of perforated,longitudinally-corrugated sheet metal, bolts for securing the overlappedpieces of metal together, a top secured to the tops of said standards, afoot-rest having its ends each provided with a plurality of perforationsregistering with the perforations of the standards, and bolts throughsaid registering perforations for securing the foot-rest in position.

16. A desk provided with longitudinallycorrugated sheet-metal standards,the front edge of each standard being flanged lengthwise and perforatedadjacent to the flange, and a foot-rest secured by said perforations andan aging with said flanges.

17. composite desk-standard formed of longitudinally-corrugated andperforated sheets flanged at one end having longitudinal rows of boltsthrough said perforations for fastening the sheets to ether, the upperand lower ends of the stan ards thus formed being bent to formhorizontal flanges, and

flanged bracket and foot ieces perforated along one edge and fastene tothe upper and lower sheets by means of bolts.

18. A desktop, standards formed of sheet metal bent over at the top toform horizontal flanges, wedges between the desk-top and flanges, andmeans for fastening the top flanges and wedges in place.

19. A desk having its to channeled transversely, a slidable, reversi 1eand invertible member in said channel, one side of said membercomprising two pieces pivotally secured at their opposite ends to theends of the other member so as to be stood at an angle to the plane ofsaid member, and having t eir adj acent ends abutting each other whensaid members are in their normal osition.

20. A desk having its top 0 anneled transversel T at one side of thecenter, a slidable, reversib e and invertible member in said channel,one side of said member comprising two pieces pivotall secured at theiropposite ends to the ends of the other 'member so as to be stood at anangle, and having their adjacent ends abutting each other when in theirnormal position, one of said two members being longer than the other.

21. In school furniture, a desk having a top furnished with a channeland with rooved cleats on opposite sides of said channe and a member sli'ng in said channel and furnished with a corresponding grooved cleat.

22. In school furniture, a desk having a top furnished with a' channeland rooved cleats at the opposite sides of said 0 annel, and a slidingmember having a hinged leaf rovided with a grooved cleat adapted to orma continuation of the first-mentioned cleats when the sliding member isin one position and to form a ledge for a book-rest when the slidingmember is in another position.

23. A desk having a channeled top and a sliding member in said to oneside of which is hard-finished to form t e top of the desk and the otheris composed of soft wood to form a drawin board.

24. A desk having a channeled top and a sliding member to fit thechannel thereof, one side of said sliding member bein formed of asoft-wood portion and the ot er side formed of two leaves ofhard-finished Wood hinged to the soft-Wood ortion,

In testimony Whereo We have hereunto subscribed our names, in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses, at the places and dates setopposite our names respectively.

seqsse Signed at Los Angeles, California, Septem- I 5 ber 17, 1902.

ALBERT L. BANCROFT.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND, F. M. TOWNSEND.

Si ned at Hanford, in the count of Kings and tate of California, this20th say of September, 1902.

GEORGE H. BANCROFT.

Witnesses:

R. G. SIMPSON, J. N. HOYT.

